Maxwell (musician)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Maxwell | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | May 23, 1973 |
| Origin | Brooklyn, New York, United States |
| Genres | R&B, soul, neo soul, quiet storm |
| Occupations | Singer–songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano, guitar, moog[1] |
| Years active | 1994-present |
| Labels | Columbia Records |
| Website | Official website |
Maxwell (born in Brooklyn, New York on May 23, 1973) is an American R&B artist. He played an important role in the development of the soul sub-genre, neo-soul.[2].
Contents |
Biography
Maxwell's father was Pentecostal and raised in Vieques, Puerto Rico. His mother grew up in a devout Baptist household in Haiti.[3] [4] [5]
Musical career
Maxwell began working with songwriter Leon Ware and noted guitarist Wah Wah Watson to record his debut Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite in the early 1990s. When the album was finished Columbia had doubts about its potential and shelved it for two years. The album was finally issued in 1996.
Heavily inspired by the sound of classic soul music, Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite did not catch on with audiences until the release of its second single, "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)", which became a hit. Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite sold over 2,000,000 copies, earning 2X platinum status, and was nominated for a Grammy Award.
On June 15, 1997, Maxwell taped an episode of the MTV concert series MTV Unplugged in New York City, performing his own songs as well as covers of songs by Kate Bush ("This Woman's Work) and Nine Inch Nails ("Closer") [6]. Maxwell clashed with his label about the release of an album of his unplugged session, so only an EP [7] containing seven songs was released for sale.
Maxwell's second studio album, Embrya, was released in 1998. The following year, Maxwell released "Fortunate", a single written by R. Kelly and featured on the soundtrack for the 1999 film Life. The single peaked at number one on Billboard magazine's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks chart. To date, "Fortunate" is Maxwell's most successful single and was Billboard's number one R&B single of 1999.
Now, Maxwell's third album, was released in 2001, becoming his first No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 album chart and Billboard's R&B album chart. It featured the hit singles "Lifetime" and a studio version of "This Woman's Work"; the Kate Bush song Maxwell covered during his 1997 MTV Unplugged set [8].
Maxwell appeared on the 2008 BET Awards, where he performed the song "Simply Beautiful" in a tribute to Al Green [9][10][11].
After taking several years off, Maxwell released his latest album BLACKsummers'night on July 7, 2009. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Albums Top 200 chart, his second album to receive that ranking. Maxwell said his reason for leaving the music industry for such a long period of time was "to just to take time off. The music industry has so much competition and there was no rush for me." He performed his hit single "Pretty Wings" at the 2009 BET Awards. An audio clip of the song "Pretty Wings" from BLACK was featured on Maxwell's myspace page in spring 2008. The full single made its world premier on the Tom Joyner Morning Show on April 28, 2009, after the New School/Old School Remix by Steve "Silk" Hurley. "Pretty Wings" is also sold as a digital download on iTunes.
Upcoming albums
On his myspace page, Maxwell describes his current project, BLACKsummers'night, as the first installment in a trilogy of albums to be released over three years beginning July 7, 2009. The second installment, blackSUMMERS'night is scheduled for release in 2010 and the third installment, blacksummers'NIGHT, for 2011.
On his 2008 fall tour, he has played tracks from the upcoming albums including, "Pretty Wings", "Bad Habits", "Never Do W/Out You", "Help Somebody", and "Cold".
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | Chart positions[12][13] |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | U.S. R&B |
UK | ||||
| Studio albums | ||||||
| 1996 | Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite
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37 | 8 | 39 | ||
| 1998 | Embrya
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3 | 2 | 11 |
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| 2001 | Now
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1 | 1 | 46 |
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| 2009 | BLACKsummers'night
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1 | 1 | 66 |
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| Other releases | ||||||
| 1997 | MTV Unplugged
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53 | 15 | 45 |
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Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions[12][13] | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | US AC | UK | |||
| 1996 | "Til the Cops Come Knockin'" | – | 79 | – | 63 | Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite |
| "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)" | 36 | 8 | 2 | 28 | ||
| "Sumthin' Sumthin'" | 108 | 23 | 10 | 27 | ||
| 1997 | "Suitelady (The Proposal Jam)" | – | 64 | – | – | |
| "Whenever, Wherever, Whatever" | – | 54 | – | – | MTV Unplugged | |
| 1998 | "Luxury: Cococure" | – | 16 | 2 | – | Embrya |
| "Matrimony: Maybe You" | – | 79 | – | – | ||
| 1999 | "Fortunate" | 4 | 1 | 1 | – | Life OST |
| "Let's Not Play the Game" | – | 55 | – | – | The Best Man OST | |
| 2001 | "Get to Know Ya" | 101 | 25 | 2 | – | Now |
| "Lifetime" | 22 | 5 | 1 | – | ||
| 2002 | "This Woman's Work" | 58 | 16 | 2 | – | |
| 2009 | "Pretty Wings" | 33 | 1 | 1 | – | BLACKsummers'night |
| "Bad Habits" | 74 | 6 | 1 | – | ||
| "Cold" | – | 62 | – | – | ||
| "Fistful of Tears" | – | – | – | – | ||
Soundtrack contributions
- 1997: Love Jones ("Sumthin' Sumthin': Mellosmoothe (Cut)")
- 1999: Life ("Fortunate")
- 1999: The Best Man ("Let's Not Play the Game," "As My Girl")
- 2000: Love & Basketball ("This Woman's Work")
- 2007: "Stomp the Yard" ("This Woman's Work")
Other works
- 1996: Red Hot + Rio ("Seguranca")
- 2004: Cottonbelly NYC Sessions ("Luxury")
As a featured artist
- 1996: "Softly Softly" (Sweetback featuring Maxwell, Sweetback)
- 2004: "No One Else in the Room" (Nas featuring Maxwell, Street's Disciple)
- 2009: "Smile" (The Alchemist featuring Maxwell & Twista, Chemical Warfare)
Awards and nominations
- Alma Awards
- 2009, Best Musical Act (Nominated)
- American Music Awards
- 2009, Favorite Male R&B/Soul Artist (Nominated)
- BET Awards
- 2002, Best Male R&B Artist (Nominated)
- 2001, Best Male R&B Artist (Nominated)
- Billboard Music Awards
- 1999, R&B Single of the Year: "Fortunate" (Winner)
- Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
- 1999, Favorite Song: "Fortunate" (Nominated)
- Grammy Awards
- 2002, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: "Lifetime" (Nominated)
- 2000, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: "Fortunate" (Nominated)
- 1999, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: "Matrimony: Maybe You" (Nominated)
- 1999, Best R&B Album: Embrya (Nominated)
- 1998, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: "Whenever, Wherever Whatever" (Nominated)
- 1997, Best R&B Album: Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite (Nominated)
- Image Awards
- 2002, Outstanding Male Artist (Nominated)
- Soul Train Awards
- 2009, Best Male Artist R&B/Soul (Winner)
- 2009, Song of the Year "Pretty Wings" (nominated)
- 2009, Album of the Year BlackSummer's Night (nominated)
- 2009, Record of the Year "Pretty Wings" (nominated)
- 2000, Best R&B/Soul Single Male: "Fortunate" (Winner)
- 2000, Best R&B/Soul Album, Male: Embrya (Nominated)
- 1996, Best R&B/Soul Single Male: "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)" (winner)
- 1996, Best R&B/Soul Album, Male: Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite (winner)
- 1996, Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist (Winner)
External links
References
- ^ Granditsky, Maria (4-1996). "A reluctant star on the rise". http://hem.bredband.net/funkyflyy/maxwell/bio.html. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
- ^ http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/maxwell/artist.jhtml
- ^ San Miguel, Celia: a woman's worth, page 80. Giant Magazine, September 2009.
- ^ www.mtv.com/news/articles/1622567/20090929/maxwell.jhtml
- ^ http://www.thelatestmaxwellnews.com/2009/08/17/maxwell-let-me-love-you-giant-magazine/
- ^ Maxwell Unplugged tv.com
- ^ Maxwell Unplugged CD entertainment.circuitcity.com
- ^ Maxwell Borrows From NIN, Kate Bush mtv.com
- ^ flash required http://www.imeem.com/24summerbreeze/video/d_9c0nAD/2008_bet_awards_maxwell_simply_beautiful_music_video
- ^ flash required http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=37720501
- ^ http://www.soulbounce.com/soul/2008/06/maxwell_shocks_awes_and_delights_at_bet_awards.php
- ^ a b "Maxwell Chart History". billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=146798&model.vnuAlbumId=1082730. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
- ^ a b "Maxwell UK Chart History". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=7762. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
- ^ "Maxwell Certification History". riaa.com. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
- ^ "Maxwell UK Certification History". bpi.co.uk. http://www.bpi.co.uk/. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
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